Mollie’s Motel & Diner has arrived in Manchester, with beautiful hotel rooms from just £109 plus a retro diner serving American classics.
The space has taken over five floors of the iconic Old Granada Studios down at St John’s, with interior design that celebrates the building’s history.
Mid-century modern details like dark woods, textured upholstery, and retro lamps abound in this stylish new opening for Manchester.
Soho House Design has worked on the build of Mollie’s Motel to preserve the modernist facade of Old Granada Studios and make playful nods to the building’s vibrant history.
This is particularly obvious downstairs in Studio IV, a cocktail bar with a live music stage, where vintage TVs have been inserted over the bar and guests sink into plush couches for pre-dinner drinks.
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You can already check out Mollie’s Diner, which is open now (with a decent discount for its launch – more on that below), with the Mollie’s Motel bedrooms set to launch early 2026.
The hotel rooms at Mollie’s Motel Manchester
A bunk room at Mollie’s Motel ManchesterA Mollie’s Motel suiteAnd a tub with a viewThe bedrooms are all beautifully designed
Hotel rooms at Mollie’s Manchester start from an incredibly reasonable £109, with different size and spec bedrooms and suites for guests.
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There are cosy bunk rooms where up to four guests can tuck into their own bunk pods, suites that have their own Peleton room, and cosy double bedrooms with gorgeous views of the southern side of the city.
Regardless of the level (or price) of your chosen room, you’ll have the same design detailing (dark wood panelling, terrazzo and aged brass finishes), plus rainshowers, a super king bed, Dyson hairdryers, GHD straighteners and Cowshed toiletries.
Mollie’s Diner in Manchester
Mollie’s Diner is open nowBreakfast dishes at Mollie’s DinerBurgers and fried chicken at Mollie’s DinerClassic thick milkshakes
The diner space itself looks like it’s been lifted straight out of Hollywood’s Golden Age, with deep burgundy leather banquettes, counter seating, and globe pendant lights.
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It’s all been inspired by the interior of a vintage Cadillac, and has space to 110 diners plus private dining for 30.
As for food and drink, you can expect everything from waffles and French toast to huge burgers and steaks, with thick milkshakes to wash it down.
You can get 50% off food if you book Mollie’s Diner HERE.
The rest of the spaces in Mollie’s Motel & Diner, Manchester
Studio IV cocktail barStudio IV cocktail barThe library snug
As you enter this reimagined building, you’re plunged straight into its design-led vision, with couches and cosy corners everywhere.
The communal reception space has a library snug, coffee counter, and beautiful bar, but you head downstairs you’ll find the real treat – Studio IV.
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This beautiful bar is built around a magnificent central bar, with retro TV screens above it and scalloped leather bar stools surrounding it.
There’s a mid-century-era stage, too, which will host live entertainment to a crowd gathered on couches before it.
You can get 25% off signature cocktails in Studio IV if you pre-book HERE.
Manc rock band left ‘broke as f***’ despite just finishing EU arena tour as industry concerns grow
Danny Jones
Manchester musicians Witch Fever have revealed that they are now almost completely “broke” despite having just finished touring with a major rock band on a lengthy arena run across Europe, as concerns continue to grow around shows in the EU.
Post-Brexit, it has become increasingly more difficult for UK bands not only to make money playing around the mainland but to even book support slots in the first place.
From more stringent visa requirements that limit the amount of time they can perform on the road, as well as other essential work permits, to tax, transport and wider logistics, almost every aspect of the live music landscape has become more complicated on the continent.
Unfortunately, ‘Doom-punk’ outfit Witch Fever is one of countless groups being affected by these issues; opening up on a recent podcast appearance, they said that this is simply “what the music industry is like at the moment.”
As you can see, speaking in the most recent episode of the 101 Part Time Jobs with Giles Bidder – a fellow artist as well as pod and radio host – two members of the local outfit put it as plainly as they could: “we’re broke as f***”.
Breaking things down into as basic terms as possible, bassist Alex Thompson said that while the “fees are [already] low, the costs are getting higher and higher” relative to what they can afford.
Thompson went on to admit that she is now relying on the remainder of her late mother’s pension to get by and that no one in the band can even get a steady enough job right now because they’re heading back out on tour again this March.
As explained by lead singer Amy Walpole, the band has only just finished supporting Danish veterans Volbeat, but any potential ‘profit’ from the two-months’ worth of shows is currently “stuck in withholding taxes across Europe” – a common problem for most British artists trying to play overseas right now.
Surprisingly, they even received a little bit of backlash on social media since the interview (which you can watch in full HERE) went live.
This just in, JK Rowling super fan celebrating us struggling coz the music industry is impossible rn because *checks notes* it’s karma for disagreeing with JKs views lol
It wasn’t long ago that the Witch Fever gang booked a big hometown gig here in the city centre, either, as their warm-up shows for Volbeat also involved a trip to the AO Arena back in November.
We’ve seen them live a couple of times now, and if those shows were anything to go by, we really think you should go see them on their upcoming tour.
As it happens, we put them on our artists of the month round-up in January 2024, and they’ve only got bigger since then; it’s more important than ever that we support rising bands and grassroots venues on our doorstep when we can.
If you’re interested, you can grab your tickets now. Even if not, in the meantime, you can see what we had to say about them and four other fantastic Greater-Manchester-based bands down below.
Featured Images — Press shot (supplied)/101 Part Time Jobs (screenshot via YouTube)
Travel & Tourism
Package holiday company launches new ‘Beckham Clause’ for feuding families
Emily Sergeant
A popular package holiday company has launched a new ‘Beckham Clause’ to help protect feuding families.
It’s official… family fallouts are now holiday-proof, thanks to a new ‘Beckham Clause’ that’s been launched by a Manchester-based travel company On The Beach in the wake of the ongoing – and at this point, inescapable – Beckham family feud.
In case you need bringing up to speed, then allow us to (briefly) sum up the Beckham family drama for you as best as possible.
Basically, at the centre of this discourse the eldest Beckham child, Brooklyn, his wife Nicola Peltz, and primarily his mum Victoria, although as the months have gone on, it appears there’s no member of the Beckham family that isn’t somewhat involved (okay, maybe not Harper… well at least not publicly, anyway).
Earlier this month, it was reported that Brooklyn had become estranged from his family, and had told his parents to contact him only through lawyers.
On The Beach has launched a new ‘Beckham Clause’ for feuding families / Credit: Ivan Shimko | Natalya Zaritskaya (via Unsplash)
And then yesterday, of course, Brooklyn publicly spoke out about the accusations on his Instagram Stories for the first time ever… and all hell broke loose in the celebrity news world.
On the Beach’s new clause – officially titled the Family Fallout Refund, and already nicknamed the ‘Beckham Clause’ by bosses – aims to give holidaymakers peace of mind that no matter how messy things get at home, their getaway won’t suffer, as it applies to family holidays where one member suddenly drops out due to a feud, argument, or full-blown emotional meltdown.
Under the new policy, if a family member pulls out before departure, their share of the hotel booking will be refunded rather than leaving the rest of the group to foot the bill.
Family fallouts aren’t just limited to celebrities, every year hundreds of holiday bookings need amending due to feuds, On The Beach said, which is why it’s chosen to launch the new refund scheme.
“We love family holidays, but we’re also very aware that family fallouts cam hamper plans,” explained Zoe Harris, who is the Chief Customer Officer at On the Beach.
“The ‘Beckham Clause’ is there for those moments when someone decides they’d rather cool off at home than by the pool.
“Our new perk means that if a family feud takes place and one person drops out, the rest of the group can still head off, relax, and enjoy the holiday they were looking forward to.”
Daisy Jackson -
16th December 2025 
